Video: Tree, “Godlike”

Tree shows off his piano skills in the debonair video for “Godlike,” a nostalgic cut off his @MCTREEG EP.

Tree'sbeen a singular voice in Chicago since well before drill took off; the gravel-voiced soul trap originator has held down his world-weary corner since his 2010 debut The 3rd Floor. This year's @MCTREEG EP represents not so much a turning point as a chance to strip his signature style down to its bare essentials—his love of evocative soul samples and intimate narratives remained, but where his productions once felt like multi-layered patchworks, here he does more with less. He's finally released a video for "Godlike," the EP's closing track and moment of intense self-reflection, on which he attempts to reconcile his personal life with his family's expectations. Like the EP itself, the video is gracefully restrained—just Tree, debonair as ever, and a piano.